The
Ishtar Gate is one of
Neo-Babylonia's greatest treasures. It was built during the
reign of
Nebuchadnezzar II around 575
BCE. Located at the end of the Processional Way, one of the world's first streets, it guarded the northern entrance to the city of Babylon.
The gate itself is about 40 feet tall. It's a double arch gate, consisting of 2 arches spaced by an interior passage. The gate is made of mud brick, surfaced with glazed clay bricks of a very deep blue color. The gate is decorated with inlayed gold and colorfully glazed brickwork depicting lions and dragons, palm trees, and geometric designs.
The Ishtar Gates lead into the city of Babylon and represent the power of Babylon. The decorations of Dragons are sacred to the god Marduk, while bulls and lions are deamed sacred to a variety of other Mesopotamian dieties.
Built not only for decoration, but to protect the city, the Gates are topped with four crenalated towers that could be used for deffensive positioning of archers and spearmen.
Recently, archeologists from Germany have taken large sections of the Ishtar Gate and have reconstructed it inside one of the State Museums in Berlin, the Vorderasiatisches Museum where it can be viewed by the public.